In Ecclesiastes 11, Solomon continues his admonitions to wise living when facing life’s uncertainties. He has frequently reminded us that we cannot know what will come after us (Ecclesiastes 3:22; 6:12; 8:7; 10:14). God’s providence is shrouded and beyond human wisdom to fathom or predict. The race is not always to the swift or the battle to the strong (Ecclesiastes 9:11). In the previous chapter, he spoke of the risks that life’s ordinary activities hold (Ecclesiastes 10:8-9). The uncertainty of the outcome of one’s labor has caused some to avoid all risks by doing nothing. Life at its best is not risk-free. All worthy efforts and investments do not always yield their intended results. But doing nothing is a guarantee of failure by default. To drive home the foolishness of such mindless caution, the Preacher gives an imperative call to bold action despite many things being outside our control.<\/p>\n
“Cast<\/em> (send out) your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight, for you do not know what evil will be upon the earth<\/em>” (Ecclesiastes 11:1-2). These verses have been traditionally understood to refer to the ultimate reward one will receive for being generous to the unfortunate. This may be true, but this exhortation is far more likely to be urging commercial ventures spread widely in several directions with a long-term view of success. The evil mentioned does not speak of immorality but of unforeseen misfortunes, which cannot be anticipated or controlled. “If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree falls to the south or the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie<\/em>” (Ecclesiastes 11:3). The English proverb that speaks to the same issue says that one should not put all his eggs in one basket.<\/p>\n In Ecclesiastes 11:4, Solomon makes the same point, illustrating it with farming rather than commerce. “He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.<\/em>” Farming is often viewed by the uninitiated as a work of stressless peace. But a farmer deals with so many variables – the weather, violent storms, drought, flood, insects, and disease, and then there are the vagaries of the market. It is a wonder he dares to invest so much money and labor into his crops. So the Preacher warns, “He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who observes the clouds will not reap<\/em>” (Ecclesiastes 11:4). There are so many things the farmer does not know. He does not “know the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child.<\/em>” Like all of us, he does “not know the works of God who makes everything<\/em>” (Ecclesiastes 11:5). But one thing he knows for sure is that if he does not sow, he certainly will not reap. Therefore, Solomon urges: “In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether both alike will be good<\/em>” (Ecclesiastes 11:6).<\/p>\n Is this all there is to these sayings, just prudent counsel for business and farming? It is true that the Preacher has earlier urged that “Whatever your hand finds to, do it with your might…<\/em>” (Ecclesiastes 9:10), but surely there is a greater application to be made here. In Jesus’ parable of the talents, He warns against doing nothing in fear of risk. The man given one talent to invest for his master hid it in the ground for fear of losing it. His lord called him “a wicked and lazy servant<\/em>” (Matthew 25:24-26). As followers of Jesus, we are called upon to speak the gospel message to all, knowing from the start that not all will receive it and that some who do will not continue (Matthew 13:18-23). And we are not the first to have such a commission (Isaiah 6:8-13; Ezekiel 33:30-33). Should we, therefore, do nothing because many will not listen?<\/p>\n There are risks in serving Christ, and we must be willing to take them. Some risks are obviously foolish, but those we take for the Lord’s sake are not (I Corinthians 15:58). The apostle Paul was at constant risk during his life of preaching. The roads were not safe; the rivers were not safe; his own people were not safe; the Gentiles were not safe; the cities were not safe; the sea was not safe; his own brethren were not safe. He did not always have enough sleep, enough to eat, or enough clothing to keep himself warm (II Corinthians 11:23-27). But none of these things ever deterred him (Acts 20:22-24). They must not deter us. As the Lord Himself has said, we must risk losing everything to be His disciples (Luke 14:33).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Paul Earnhart via Biblical Insights, Vol 15, No. 1, January 2015 In Ecclesiastes 11, Solomon continues his admonitions to wise living when facing life’s uncertainties. He has frequently reminded us that we cannot know what will come after us (Ecclesiastes 3:22; 6:12; 8:7; 10:14). God’s providence is shrouded and beyond human wisdom to fathom…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1779,791,1613],"class_list":["post-84020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-caution","tag-ecclesiastes","tag-risk"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15476,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/enjoy-what-god-has-given-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":84020,"position":0},"title":"Enjoy What God Has Given You","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 24, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 50 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Have you given a gift that wasn\u2019t appreciated? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s nice, but it wasn\u2019t what I hoped to receive.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThanks, but it would have been better if you also included ...\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Or worse, it just sits there, not being used \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0D.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s frustrating to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67919,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/live-joyfully\/","url_meta":{"origin":84020,"position":1},"title":"Live Joyfully!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 4, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Paul Earnhart via Biblical Insights, Vol. 15 No 2, February 2015 Text:\u00a0Ecclesiates 9:1-12 The Preacher concluded the eighth chapter with another of his oft-repeated observations that God's ways are inscrutable to men, however wise (Ecclesiastes 8:17). Job, in his misery, twice asks plaintively: \"But where can wisdom\u00a0be found? And\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50542,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-conclusion-of-the-whole-matter\/","url_meta":{"origin":84020,"position":2},"title":"The Conclusion of the Whole Matter","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by David R. Pharr Frank Sinatra was only 54 when he recorded his popular song, \"I Did It My Way.\" The song may imply his life was nearly over. \"And now the end is near, So I face the final curtain.\" The lyrics may suggest a full and mostly successful\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61546,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":84020,"position":3},"title":"Notes on Life","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 25, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"The Enjoyment of Life According to Ecclesiastes Contentment in food and drink, in labor, and being good in God's sight - Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 Have fun, do good, take pleasure in what you produce, and respect God - Ecclesiastes 3:13-15 Take pleasure in today. Don't say \"Tomorrow I'll be happy\" -\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45879,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-you-explain-ecclesiastes-226\/","url_meta":{"origin":84020,"position":4},"title":"Could you explain Ecclesiastes 2:26?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Could you explain Ecclesiastes 2:24-26? What is meant in verse 26 by \"... while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who is good in God's sight ...\"? Answer: The book of Ecclesiastes is exploring the purpose\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28107,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-meaning-of-life-why-are-you-here\/","url_meta":{"origin":84020,"position":5},"title":"The Meaning of Life: Why Are You Here?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 20, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Timothy 6:6-21 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What is it that you are looking for out of life? What are you expecting? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0So many people never find contentment with their lives because they are expecting things that life cannot deliver. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They decide they can\u2019t be happy with life\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84020\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}